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the corresponding article in Spanish. (March 2024) Click [show] for important translation instructions.
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Battle of Culiacán | |||||||
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Part of the Mexican Drug War | |||||||
![]() Culiacán the day after the battle. | |||||||
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Belligerents | |||||||
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Commanders and leaders | |||||||
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Units involved | |||||||
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Strength | |||||||
350 [1] | 700-800 [1] | ||||||
Casualties and losses | |||||||
2 killed | 8 killed | ||||||
4 civilians killed, 21 injured [2] |
The Battle of Culiacán, [3] [4] also known locally as the Culiacanazo [5] and Black Thursday, [6] was a failed attempt to capture Ovidio Guzmán López, son of Sinaloa Cartel kingpin Joaquín "El Chapo" Guzmán, who was wanted in the United States for drug trafficking.
On 17 October 2019, a convoy consisting of 35 police officers and soldiers drove up to Ovidio's house in the Tres Ríos neighborhood of Culiacán, Sinaloa. [7] Initial government reports claimed that this convoy was doing a routine patrol of the area at the time and only approached the house after being fired upon, [8] [9] but after the battle, authorities admitted that the arrest was a pre-planned military operation done in response to a U.S. extradition request. [10] [11] Four people, including Ovidio, were found inside at 3:00 PM local time. [7]
Around 700 cartel gunmen began to attack civilian, government and military targets around the city, [1] despite orders from Ovidio sent at security forces' request. [10] Massive towers of smoke could be seen rising from burning cars and vehicles. The cartels were well-equipped, with improvised armored vehicles, bulletproof vests, .50 caliber (12.7 mm) rifles, rocket launchers, grenade launchers and heavy machine guns. [8]
56 prisoners in the city's prison rioted, took weapons from guards, and escaped in what The Daily Beast said "appeared to be a planned attack". [12] [13]
In the end, Ovidio was released after the cartel took eight servicemen as hostages, [14] including one captured from local barracks in front of his children. [15]
President Andrés Manuel López Obrador defended the decision to release Ovidio, arguing it prevented further loss of life, [9] insisting that he wanted to pacify the country and did not want more massacres, [16] and arguing that the capture of one drug smuggler could not be more valuable than the lives of innocent civilians. [17] While admitting that the security forces underestimated the Cartel's manpower and ability to respond, [18] López Obrador also clarified that criminal processes against Ovidio were still ongoing, [19] sending 8,000 troops and police reinforcements to restore peace in Culiacán. [1]
Police officer Eduardo Triana Sandoval was ambushed at a strip mall and assassinated on 8 November 2019. [20] Many media outlets claimed that he took part in Ovidio's arrest, [21] [22] [23] however Cristóbal Castañeda Camarillo, head of Sinaloa State Police, stated he only took part in subsequent "containment actions". [24]
Following another operation in Culiacán on 5 January 2023, Guzmán López was successfully recaptured by Mexican authorities and transferred to a maximum security prison in Almoloya de Juárez, resulting in the 2023 Sinaloa unrest. [25] [26]
24°48′25″N 107°23′38″W / 24.80694°N 107.39389°W
The battle of Culiacán illustrates that the Sinaloa cartel is no weaker today than before the war on drugs began. [...] Days before the battle of Culiacán, 14 policemen were massacred in the town of Aguililla, in the state of Michoacán [...]
![]() | You can help expand this article with text translated from
the corresponding article in Spanish. (March 2024) Click [show] for important translation instructions.
|
Battle of Culiacán | |||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Part of the Mexican Drug War | |||||||
![]() Culiacán the day after the battle. | |||||||
| |||||||
Belligerents | |||||||
![]() |
![]() | ||||||
Commanders and leaders | |||||||
![]() ![]() ![]() |
![]() ![]() ![]() | ||||||
Units involved | |||||||
| |||||||
Strength | |||||||
350 [1] | 700-800 [1] | ||||||
Casualties and losses | |||||||
2 killed | 8 killed | ||||||
4 civilians killed, 21 injured [2] |
The Battle of Culiacán, [3] [4] also known locally as the Culiacanazo [5] and Black Thursday, [6] was a failed attempt to capture Ovidio Guzmán López, son of Sinaloa Cartel kingpin Joaquín "El Chapo" Guzmán, who was wanted in the United States for drug trafficking.
On 17 October 2019, a convoy consisting of 35 police officers and soldiers drove up to Ovidio's house in the Tres Ríos neighborhood of Culiacán, Sinaloa. [7] Initial government reports claimed that this convoy was doing a routine patrol of the area at the time and only approached the house after being fired upon, [8] [9] but after the battle, authorities admitted that the arrest was a pre-planned military operation done in response to a U.S. extradition request. [10] [11] Four people, including Ovidio, were found inside at 3:00 PM local time. [7]
Around 700 cartel gunmen began to attack civilian, government and military targets around the city, [1] despite orders from Ovidio sent at security forces' request. [10] Massive towers of smoke could be seen rising from burning cars and vehicles. The cartels were well-equipped, with improvised armored vehicles, bulletproof vests, .50 caliber (12.7 mm) rifles, rocket launchers, grenade launchers and heavy machine guns. [8]
56 prisoners in the city's prison rioted, took weapons from guards, and escaped in what The Daily Beast said "appeared to be a planned attack". [12] [13]
In the end, Ovidio was released after the cartel took eight servicemen as hostages, [14] including one captured from local barracks in front of his children. [15]
President Andrés Manuel López Obrador defended the decision to release Ovidio, arguing it prevented further loss of life, [9] insisting that he wanted to pacify the country and did not want more massacres, [16] and arguing that the capture of one drug smuggler could not be more valuable than the lives of innocent civilians. [17] While admitting that the security forces underestimated the Cartel's manpower and ability to respond, [18] López Obrador also clarified that criminal processes against Ovidio were still ongoing, [19] sending 8,000 troops and police reinforcements to restore peace in Culiacán. [1]
Police officer Eduardo Triana Sandoval was ambushed at a strip mall and assassinated on 8 November 2019. [20] Many media outlets claimed that he took part in Ovidio's arrest, [21] [22] [23] however Cristóbal Castañeda Camarillo, head of Sinaloa State Police, stated he only took part in subsequent "containment actions". [24]
Following another operation in Culiacán on 5 January 2023, Guzmán López was successfully recaptured by Mexican authorities and transferred to a maximum security prison in Almoloya de Juárez, resulting in the 2023 Sinaloa unrest. [25] [26]
24°48′25″N 107°23′38″W / 24.80694°N 107.39389°W
The battle of Culiacán illustrates that the Sinaloa cartel is no weaker today than before the war on drugs began. [...] Days before the battle of Culiacán, 14 policemen were massacred in the town of Aguililla, in the state of Michoacán [...]